Answers:

1. The Latvian name for Peter is Peteris. Of course, you are most probably aware that Latvia is a north eastern European nation on the Baltic sea, but just in case you had forgotten, click on the above link. In addition, those symbols decorating my name are marks that modify the pronunciation of the corresponding alphabetic character. Soon I'll add an audio link with my voice pronouncing it. Wow, real multimedia!





































2. "Tux", the penguin, is the logo used for the linux operating system. Perhaps one should call it a mascot instead, there seems to be some debate about this in the linux community. Anyway, linux is a unix-like operating system designed for desktop computers, and get this, its free! Well... its easier to pay 40 bucks to get an organized distribution on a CD. However, with linux you get what used to be expected in an operating system, before that one made by Microsoft came along. Linux comes with a set of free computer language compilers, many useful utilities and software packages. Furthermore, unix based systems are built on concepts introduced by those whose interest is a convienent, versatile, and stable operating system, and are systems which have had networking capability integrated from times when networks themselves emerged. Microsoft has instead burdened us with a ubiquitous kluge in the interest of backward compatibility with itself. Apple could have saved us from this, had Apple been less proprietary. And this is the important point, linux is not proprietary. That is, all the code is there for you to see and fully investigate, as well as change, if you care to. With linux, you are the master of your operating system. Granted, fully understanding or changing one's operating system may not be everyone's(nor mine) idea of fun or interest. However, today computer technology is a terribly important tool in how we work and create. We need a better mix of both flexibility and standardization than the one offered by today's major dominant desktop operating system. With the development of linux we have the possibility to escape those poor self-serving decisions of a corporate interest. Of course, this also depends on who is in charge of linux. Can you believe this, there is an army of programmers who develop linux in their spare time, without any pay but the ego boost they get from making an improved product. Also, the basic system remains administered by its initiater, Linus Torvalds. Linux may still have its difficulties, but with a recipe for development such as this, I have hope for a better computing environment in the future.